In an interview during
the Munich Security Conference, Fallon told Reuters he fully
supported a new effort by the leaders of Germany and France to
try to halt the Ukraine conflict.

However, the Defence Secretary said territory taken by rebels
since the Minsk agreement in September should “absolutely
not” be recognized in any new ceasefire.

French President Francoise Hollande and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel flew to Moscow on Friday to discuss the escalating crisis
in Ukraine, reportedly without informingthe US Secretary of State John
Kerry, who is currently in Ukraine discussing Kiev’s plea for
weapons.

The two leaders, who are
part of the so-called ‘Normandy Four’ group along with Moscow and
Kiev, agreed on the trip on Wednesday night, an unnamed French
government official told AP.

“Together with Angela Merkel we have decided to take a new
initiative,” Hollande told a news conference on Thursday.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the leaders
would “discuss what specifically the countries can do to
contribute to a speedy end of the civil war in southeastern
Ukraine, which has escalated in recent days and resulted in many
casualties.”

After the meeting on Thursday with the German and French leaders,
Ukrainian President Poroshenko said the talks indicated a
ceasefire was possible in eastern Ukraine.

A senior French official told local weekly Le Nouvel Observateur
on Thursday that the decision to meet with President Vladimir
Putin was taken on Tuesday, after the Russian leader called on
both sides in the Ukrainian conflict to stop military actions and
hostilities.

During his visit to Ukraine, Kerry laid the blame for the
conflict’s escalation solely on Russia, and disregarded Kiev’s
intensified assault on rebel-held areas.

On Thursday, however, the White House admitted that possible
military assistance from the US to Ukraine could increase
bloodshed in the region. Earlier in the day, Kerry said
Washington preferred a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

However, the Secretary of State maintained “Russian
aggression” was the greatest threat to Ukraine.

Following his meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko,
Kerry told journalists it was impossible to ignore “tanks
crossing the border from Russia” and “Russian fighters
in unmarked uniforms crossing the border, and leading individual
companies of so-called separatists in battle.”

Russia has long rejected allegations of its troops being engaged
in the eastern Ukraine conflict.

“I say it every time: if you are so sure in stating that,
confirm it with facts. But no one can or wants to provide
them,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in
January.